System and method for reading multifunctional electronic books on portable readers

ABSTRACT

A platform agnostic digital publication format that supports rendered and resizable text, illustrations and graphics, “read to me” features and interactive functionality. The format takes advantage of the alternate renditions feature of the OCF of the EPUB® specification and includes both a ShockWave Flash (SWF) based rendition and a HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Java Script (JS), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) based implementation. In order to avoid duplicating large components (graphics, audio, etc.), files containing those components are not embedded in the SWF files, but are rather externally referenced by both the SWF and the HTML files. A strict and consistent folder structure and file-naming convention improves efficiency and reduces the potential for error.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S.Provisional Patent application No. 61/407,004, filed on Oct. 26, 2010,the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to systems and methods forreading electronic publications, and more particularly to electronicpublication readers capable of reading electronic publications withinteractive features on multiple platforms from a single format eBookfile.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The EPUB® specification is a distribution and interchange formatstandard for digital publications and documents. EPUB® defines a way ofrepresenting, packaging and encoding structured and semanticallyenhanced Web content, including XHTML, CSS, SVG, images, and otherresources, for distribution in a single-file format. EPUB® allowspublishers to produce and send a single digital publication file (anePub file) through distribution and offers consumers interoperabilitybetween software/hardware for unencrypted, reflowable digital books andother publications. EPUB® was initially standardized in 2007 as asuccessor format to the Open eBook Publication Structure or “OEB”, whichwas originally developed in 1999.

Two important components of the EPUB® specification are the OpenPackaging Format (OPF) and the OEBPS Container Format (OCF). The OPFspecification defines the mechanism by which the various components ofan electronic publication are tied together and provides additionalstructure and semantics to the electronic publication. Specifically, OPFdescribes and references all components of the electronic publication(e.g. markup files, images, navigation structures), providespublication-level metadata, specifies the linear reading-order of thepublication, provides fallback information to use when unsupportedextensions are employed and provides a mechanism to specify adeclarative global navigation structure (the NCX).

The OCF specification describes a general-purpose container technologyin the context of encapsulating ePub publications and optional alternaterenditions thereof. As a general container format, OCF collects arelated set of files into a single-file container. OCF can be used tocollect files in various document formats and for classes ofapplications. The single-file container enables easy transport of,management of, and random access to, the collection.

OCF defines the rules for how to represent an abstract collection offiles (the “abstract container”) into physical representation within aZIP archive (the “physical container”). OCF is the required single-filecontainer technology for ePub publications. During the preparation stepsin producing an electronic publication, OCF is used as the single-fileformat when exchanging in-progress publications between differentindividuals and/or different organizations. When providing an electronicpublication from publisher or conversion house (Content Provider) to thedistribution or sales channel, OCF is the recommended single-file formatto be used as the transport format. When delivering the finalpublication to an ePub reading system or end-user, OCF is the requiredformat for the single-file container that holds all of the assets thatmake up the publication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a digital publication reader that takesadvantage of an expanded ePub functionality. The reader provides digitalrendering of reflowable text, to support graphical and picture books,interactivity, animation, resizeable text boxes and the ability to zoomin and pan around illustrations. The reader of the present invention canfunction on multiple platforms including Android and iOS.

The inventors of the present application have found that readers for thetraditional architecture for files for electronic publication areinsufficient for digital picture books and graphic books with resizabletext and graphics, light motion graphics, narration and sound effects.The present invention is a platform agnostic digital reader thatsupports rendered and resizable text, illustrations and graphics, readto me features and interactive functionality. The reader takes advantageof an enhanced rendition feature of the OCF of the EPUB® specificationand includes both a ShockWave Flash (SWF) based rendition and aHyperText Markup Language (HTML), Java Script (JS), Cascading StyleSheets (CSS) based implementation of an ePicture Book. In order to avoidduplicating large components (graphics, audio, etc.), files containingthose components are not embedded in the SWF files, but are ratherexternally referenced by both the SWF and the HTML files. A strict andconsistent folder structure and file-naming convention improvesefficiency and reduces the potential for error.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purposes of illustrating the present invention, there is shownin the drawings a form which is presently preferred, it being understoodhowever, that the invention is not limited to the precise form shown bythe drawing in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the structure of the electronic publication employedby the present invention; and

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary electronic reader capable of reading theelectronic publication.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The reader of the present invention is appropriate for a wide variety ofenhanced ebook content, including for electronic children's picturebooks.

Throughout this document references are made to “pages” for simplicity,understanding that a page of the publication might correspond to atwo-page spread of the corresponding physical book. Some of the goalsachieved by the electronic publication include a well defined anddocumented format, optimal multi-platform support with a single zippedfile to maintain, ingest, and distribute, and fully supported DigitalRights Management, DRM.

The reader of the present invention operates on an electronic device asillustrated in FIG. 2 and serves as a reader for electronic publicationsin the format described in connection with FIG. 1, the ePiB format. Thereader is launched automatically by a library application when the userchooses to read an electronic publication in the ePiB format.

The reader exits either when the users closes the electronic publicationwhich is trigger from within the electronic publication content orpresses the Home key on the device 500. On exiting, the unzipped andunencrypted electronic publication data is purged from the memory and/ordisk of the device 500. This purging can be handled by the reader itselfor by the library application.

The reading experience provided by the present invention is immersive,meaning the electronic publication itself fills the screen with aminimum of visible user interface (UI) elements. Page turns are drivenby both swipe gestures and taps in the right and left gutters of thescreen of device 500. Zooming into the page is done with a pinch/spreadmulti-touch gesture.

The reader also provides a Heads Up Display, HUD, button on the screenof device 500 that launches further navigation possibilities. Suchnavigation controls include commands such as “return to the library” ora Thumbnail Navigation Scrubber.

Text enlargement is triggered by a single or double tap on a text box ona page of the electronic publication being displayed. Clicking anywhereon the screen of device 500 closes the enlarged text box. Somechildren's books include narration, which is tied to page turns and totext blocks. Pages themselves, as displayed by the reader, have varyinglevels of interactivity as defined by the SWF files that make up theelectronic publication's content. SWFs need a mechanism to acceptgesture events to control them.

For children's books, when a child enters an interactive mode (i.e.,launches an activity on a page), the normal page turn gestures aredisabled and replaced with specific page-turn icons, to lessenconfusion. Additionally, a page turn automatically ends an activity on apage.

For adult trade books, some ability to save data is desirable. Forexample, a user of a crossword puzzle book done might want to save workdone to date between readings. The reader provides the user with theability to save the work already performed in the crossword puzzle book.

The ePiB format specifies a folder 154 for thumbnail images of eachpage/spread. The reader of the present invention accesses thosethumbnails to implement a navigation scrubber.

ePiBs for children's books are typically in landscape mode. Adult tradebooks encoded in the ePiB format can be in either portrait or landscape,and might also adapt to either orientation. The reader of the presentinvention accommodates an accelerometer in device 500 for orientationdetection and also provides for a locked-orientation mode.

Brightness and volume controls are accessible from within the reader.

The reader of the present invention supports ePiB, ePub, Digital RightsManaged and non Digital Rights Managed content. As a user selects anelectronic publication in a library application, the library applicationdetects the MIME type of the electronic publication and has Adobe RMSDKperform DRM decryption and zip extraction to hidden partition.

Once the electronic publication has been unzipped and decrypted, thereader of the present invention is pointed to newly extracted folder andlooks for the proper ePiB structure, including the TOC, Images, JSONfiles as further described below. Using the roadmap contained in theelectronic publication according to the ePiB format, SWF dynamicallycreates ‘ePiB’ book based on the assets (audio/images) and the pagestructure contained with the JSON file. When a user initially opens anelectronic publication, the reader will open the publication to thepublication's cover page.

In reading mode, the current reading page, previous and next readingpage are all rendered in memory by the reader. When a user exits thereader while reading an electronic publication, in all cases when theuser opens the electronic publication again, the user returns to thesame reading location and same overall state. For example. if the userhit the power key or the home key when the contextual menu was up, theuser will return to the just read page. If minimal tools have beenactivated and the user left and returned, they will return with theminimal tools ON.

The reader of the present invention provides the following readingnavigation tools. A user can turn the page by swiping on the touchscreen of the device 500. The user can swipe anywhere on the page toturn to the previous or next page. The user swipes left to right to turnto previous page and swipes right to left to turn to the next page. Theuser can also turn the page by tapping on the touch screen. In apreferred embodiment, the user can top on the page gutters (20% left andright) to turn to the previous or next page. The reader further providesan animation upon the turning of the page in the form of a curled pageon turning.

User can zoom in/out on the illustrations on a page displayed by thereader by using a pinch or spread gesture on the touch screen. Further,the user can use a touch gesture to pan around in a page.

The format of the electronic publication used by the reader of thepresent invention makes use of the Open Packaging Format (OPF) and theOEBPS Container Format (OCF) that are part of the EPUB® specificationdescribed above for organizing, specifying, and packaging content datafor electronic content. Using these standard specifications providesseveral benefits. The OPF and OCF specifications are well understood andsupported, so reading systems, such as the present invention, thatsupport OPF and OCF can support the format of the present invention withcertain modifications and extensions. The DRM in place in readers tohandle traditional ePub documents can be used with the enhanced ePubpublications of the present invention without modification.

The reader of the present invention separates the structural descriptionof a publication, its media elements, and its interactivity logic. Thisarchitectural separation within the format of an electronic publicationprovides several benefits. Because the media assets, by far the largestelements of any advanced electronic publication, are separated from theinteractivity logic and the structure, multiple renditions of the logiccan exist within one document, without the electronic publicationgrowing unreasonably large.

Because there can be multiple renditions of the interactivity logic, thereader of the present invention can make use of different technologiessupported by different devices (e.g., Flash on an Android device, HTML5and JavaScript on an iOS device).

One of the important aspects of the present invention is the folderstructure utilized by the reader. An example of an enhanced ePub file100 used by the reader of the present invention is illustrated inFIG. 1. Following the OCF format specification, there are two root-levelfolders, META-INF 105 and OEBPS 110. As with traditional ePub files, theenhanced ePub container 100 of the present invention includes themimetype 107.

The OEBPS folder 110 serves as the root of both the SWF and the XHTMLversions of the publication. The OEBPS folder 110 contains at least thefollowing files: Toc.ncx 115; Content.opf 120; Book.html 130; andBook.swf 140. Content.opf 120 is a file that contains publicationmetadata and a manifest of the files that make up the electronicpublication.

Book.swf 140 is the primary SWF file that drives the Flash reader of theelectronic publication. This SWF file 140 includes publication-levellogic, including page turns, navigation scrubber, reading mode, etc. Theprimary SWF file 140 loads individual page-level SWF files to allow thereader to render the individual pages of the electronic publication.Using the page-level SWF files, the reader of the present invention canload background and animation images from the IMAGES subdirectory 150and audio from the AUDIO subdirectory 160 as further described below.

Book.html 130 is the primary HTML file that drives the HTML/JS reader ofthe present invention. The HTML Architecture is similar to the Flashrendition architecture. Book.html 130 is essentially an HTML/JavaScriptapplication that operated on the reader and loads and unloads pagesaccording to user navigation, and handles memory in the reader by addingand deleting nodes of the Document Object Model, DOM, tree. All graphicand audio content is referenced from the same directories, e.g. IMAGES150, AUDIO 160, and are the same files as used by the Flash rendition.

When executed by the reader, both the Book.html 130 and the Book.swf 140primary files make use of the Book 170, JS 180 and Book.CSS 190 foldersas further described below.

Additionally, OEBPS folder 110 contains the following subfolders: IMAGES150; AUDIO 160; BOOK 170; JS 180; and CSS 190.

IMAGES subfolder 150 contains all of the images 152 used on the pages inthe electronic book contained in enhanced ePub file 100. The images 152contained in subfolder 150 are preferably in either the PNG or JPGformat. IMAGES folder 150 preferably includes a subfolder THUMBNAILS154. Electronic books are broken typically into “spreads” (typicallyfacing pages from the print version). Each spread has a thumbnailreference (image), the actual width and height of the image of thespread, an identifier of the image for the spread, and “narration”entries. Subfolder THUMBNAILS 154 contains thumbnail images 156 of eachspread (e.g., two facing pages) in the electronic book for use by abook-level navigation scrubber in an electronic reader capable ofreading the electronic book.

AUDIO subfolder 160 contains all the audio files 162, 164 associatedwith the electronic publication contained in the enhanced ePub file 100.

BOOK subfolder 170 contains the JSON data files 175 used for the pagelayout for the electronic publication contained in the enhanced ePubfile 100. The size, position, and contents of each text block on a pageis described and associated with each book page. The primary file inBOOK subfolder 170 is book.json 175. This file contains the structuraldefinition of the publication in the form of JSON data.

Book.json 175 begins with publication level data, including thefollowing (note that the actual values are provided exemplary purposesonly):

-   -   “title”: “The Title of the Publication”,    -   “author”: “Author's Name”,    -   “width”: 1536,    -   “height”: 768,    -   “backCoverPromo”: “backcoverpromo”,

The width and height values specify the pixel dimensions of the sourceassets of the electronic publication. An electronic reader displayingthe enhanced ePub publication uses these values to scale the displayedversion of the publication to the size of the view screen of theelectronic reader. For example, on a screen of an electronic reader withdimensions of 1024×600, the publication described above would display ata resolution of 1024×512.

Following the publication-level metadata in Book.json 175, is an arrayof spreads, specified by:

“spreads”: [ ... ]

Each element of the array of spreads preferably has the followingformat. Again, the values used herein are exemplary only.

{ “thumbId”: “thumb_11-12_0”, “width”: 1536, “height”: 768, “assets”: [{ “itemref”: “spread_11-12_0” } ] , “narration”: [ { “itemref”:“narration_11-12_01”, “id”: “narration0”, “audio”: “audio_11-12_01”,“initial-width”: 555, “initial-height”: 232, “initial-left”: 111,“initial-top”: 47, “width”: 966, “height”: 386, “left”: 59, “top”: 60 }, { “itemref”: “narration_11-12_02”, “id”: “narration1”, “audio”:“audio_11-12_02”, “initial-width”: 502, “initial-height”: 138,“initial-left”: 933, “initial-top”: 596, “width”: 862, “height”: 219,“left”: 661, “top”: 547 } ] , “activity”: [ { “itemref”: “”, “autoplay”:false } ] }

“thumId,” as used above, references a thumbnail image 156 in IMAGEdirectory 150 and is used to represent the spread in a “thumbnailscrubber” navigation method.

“Width” and “height,” as used above, specify the pixel dimensions of theassets in the particular spread being described. Generally, the widthand height of a spread corresponds to the book-level width and heightdimensions, but can vary depending on the spread.

“Assets” as used above is an array of references to image, animation,and interactivity assets used in this spread.

“Narration” is an array of specifications of textboxes on the screen.Each element of that array specifies the image asset used when thattextbox is enlarged, the audio file (if any) that accompanies that textbox, the bounding box of the unenlarged text box (used as the triggeringhotspot to enlarge the box) and the resulting bounding box of theenlarged text box. The narration array is an optional component.

“Activity” is a specification of the activity that occurs on thatspread, as specified in the assets portion of the spread description. Itis an optional component.

Other data can be included in the spread description, allowing theformat to extend its functionality.

CSS subfolder 190 contains all the CSS files 195 pertaining to theelectronic publication contained in the enhanced ePub file 100. Thesefiles 195 add styles to the document without having to repeat code inHTML at each individual instance. Using the CSS files 195, the styleneed only be applied once.

JS subfolder 185 contains all JavaScript files 185 pertaining to theelectronic publication contained in the enhanced ePub file 100.JavaScript files 185 add interactivity functionality to pages in theelectronic publication, for example, pop up or text boxes.

As previously described, presently, there are two primary architecturesfor rendering electronic publications, the Flash Rendition Architectureand the HTML/JS Rendition Architecture.

The Flash rendition of the electronic publication is driven by a primarySWF file Book.swf 140. This SWF 140 includes publication-level logic,including page turns, navigation scrubber, reading mode, etc. Theprimary SWF file 140 loads individual page-level SWF files to render theindividual pages of the electronic publication. The page-level SWF filesload background and animation images from the IMAGES subdirectory 150,audio from the AUDIO subdirectory 160, etc. The page-level SWF filesopen data files from the BOOK directory 170 to position elements on thepage being rendered. In this way, the page-level SWF files are largelysimilar to one another, unless they include activities. For mostelectronic publications, the page-level SWF files may be identicalexcept for the data files to which they point.

The HTML/JS Rendition Architecture is similar to the Flash renditionarchitecture, where the publication is driven by a book level HTML file,Book.html 130. Book.html 130 is essentially an HTML/JavaScriptapplication that loads and unloads pages according to user navigation,and handles memory by adding and deleting nodes of the Document ObjectModel, DOM, tree. All graphic and audio content is referenced from thesame directories, e.g. IMAGES 150, AUDIO 160, and are the same files asused by the Flash rendition.

The format of the container 100 of the electronic publication isstructurally an ePub file. Everything the reader of the presentinvention needs to present the content as intended is listed as an<item> in the <manifest> section of the enhanced ePub file 100.

However, in contrast to a traditional ePub structure, there is a JSONfile 175 contained in the BOOK directory 170 in the enhanced ePubcontainer 100. This JSON file 175 contains metadata that tells thereader application how the various pieces of the electronic publicationshould be presented. This structure employed in an electronic reader isnot taught or suggested by traditional ePub container structure.

In operation, when the electronic reader of the present invention loadsan electronic publication according to the format described above, theenhanced ePub file 100 is digested and the name/value pairs of IDs andfile paths are stored. The JSON file 175, the roadmap to the electronicpublication, is read and converted into an in-memory data structure inthe reader. The first spread in the book, as referenced by the JSON file175, is drawn or rendered by the reader.

Each narration entry associated with a spread contains a “hit zone” thattells the reader where a tap should be interpreted as a request to zoominto the text of a narration, how big the zoomed-in image should be, andwhether or not there is an audio clip associated with this narrationasset. “Hit zones” for any narration assets are remembered for thatpage. If a user taps in a hit zone, the narration text for that hit zoneis displayed in a zoomed state.

If there is an audio clip accompanying the narration text, a play buttonis displayed at the upper-right of the zoomed narration area. Tappingthe play button plays the audio clip. The reference to an audio clip inthe JSON file 175 is the identifier for the entry 162, 164 in the AUDIOdirectory 160.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary device 500. As appreciated by thoseskilled the art, the device 500 can take many forms capable of operatingthe present invention. As previously described, in a preferredembodiment the device 500 is a mobile electronic device, and in an evenmore preferred embodiment device 500 is an electronic reader device.Electronic device 500 can include control circuitry 500, storage 510,memory 520, input/output (“I/O”) circuitry 530, communications circuitry540, and display 550. In some embodiments, one or more of the componentsof electronic device 500 can be combined or omitted, e.g., storage 510and memory 520 may be combined. As appreciated by those skilled in theart, electronic device 500 can include other components not combined orincluded in those shown in FIG. 2, e.g., a power supply such as abattery, an input mechanism, etc.

Electronic device 500 can include any suitable type of electronicdevice. For example, electronic device 500 can include a portableelectronic device that the user may hold in his or her hand, such as adigital media player, a personal e-mail device, a personal dataassistant (“PDA”), a cellular telephone, a handheld gaming device, atablet device or an eBook reader. As another example, electronic device500 can include a larger portable electronic device, such as a laptopcomputer. As yet another example, electronic device 500 can include asubstantially fixed electronic device, such as a desktop computer.

Control circuitry 500 can include any processing circuitry or processoroperative to control the operations and performance of electronic device500. For example, control circuitry 500 can be used to run operatingsystem applications, firmware applications, media playback applications,media editing applications, or any other application. Control circuitry500 can drive the display 550 and process inputs received from a userinterface, e.g., the display 550 if it is a touch screen.

Orientation sensing component 505 includes orientation hardware such as,but not limited to, an accelerometer or a gyroscopic device and thesoftware operable to communicate the sensed orientation to the controlcircuitry 500. The orientation sensing component 505 is coupled tocontrol circuitry 500 that controls the various input and output to andfrom the other various components. The orientation sensing component 505is configured to sense the current orientation of the portable mobiledevice 500 as a whole. The orientation data is then fed to the controlcircuitry 500 which control an orientation sensing application. Theorientation sensing application controls the graphical user interface(GUI), which drives the display 550 to present the GUI for the desiredmode.

Storage 510 can include, for example, one or more storage mediumsincluding a hard-drive, solid state drive, flash memory, permanentmemory such as ROM, any other suitable type of storage component, or anycombination thereof. Storage 510 can store, for example, media content,e.g., eBooks, music and video files, application data, e.g., softwarefor implementing functions on electronic device 500, firmware, userpreference information data, e.g., content preferences, authenticationinformation, e.g., libraries of data associated with authorized users,transaction information data, e.g., information such as credit cardinformation, wireless connection information data, e.g., informationthat can enable electronic device 500 to establish a wirelessconnection, subscription information data, e.g., information that keepstrack of podcasts or television shows or other media a user subscribesto, contact information data, e.g., telephone numbers and emailaddresses, calendar information data, and any other suitable data or anycombination thereof.

Memory 520 can include cache memory, semi-permanent memory such as RAM,and/or one or more different types of memory used for temporarilystoring data. In some embodiments, memory 520 can also be used forstoring data used to operate electronic device applications, or anyother type of data that can be stored in storage 510. In someembodiments, memory 520 and storage 510 can be combined as a singlestorage medium.

I/O circuitry 530 can be operative to convert, and encode/decode, ifnecessary analog signals and other signals into digital data. In someembodiments, I/O circuitry 530 can also convert digital data into anyother type of signal, and vice-versa. For example, I/O circuitry 530 canreceive and convert physical contact inputs, e.g., from a multi-touchscreen, i.e., display 550, physical movements, e.g., from a mouse orsensor, analog audio signals, e.g., from a microphone, or any otherinput. The digital data can be provided to and received from controlcircuitry 500, storage 510, and memory 520, or any other component ofelectronic device 500. Although I/O circuitry 530 is illustrated in FIG.2 as a single component of electronic device 500, several instances ofI/O circuitry 530 can be included in electronic device 500.

Electronic device 500 can include any suitable interface or componentfor allowing a user to provide inputs to I/O circuitry 530. For example,electronic device 500 can include any suitable input mechanism, such asa button, keypad, dial, a click wheel, or a touch screen, e.g., display550. In some embodiments, electronic device 500 can include a capacitivesensing mechanism, or a multi-touch capacitive sensing mechanism.

In some embodiments, electronic device 500 can include specializedoutput circuitry associated with output devices such as, for example,one or more audio outputs. The audio output can include one or morespeakers, e.g., mono or stereo speakers, built into electronic device500, or an audio component that is remotely coupled to electronic device500, e.g., a headset, headphones or earbuds that can be coupled todevice 500 with a wire or wirelessly.

Display 550 includes the display and display circuitry for providing adisplay visible to the user. For example, the display circuitry caninclude a screen, e.g., an LCD screen, that is incorporated inelectronics device 500. In some embodiments, the display circuitry caninclude a coder/decoder (Codec) to convert digital media data intoanalog signals. For example, the display circuitry or other appropriatecircuitry within electronic device 1 can include video Codecs, audioCodecs, or any other suitable type of Codec.

The display circuitry also can include display driver circuitry,circuitry for driving display drivers, or both. The display circuitrycan be operative to display content, e.g., media playback information,application screens for applications implemented on the electronicdevice 500, information regarding ongoing communications operations,information regarding incoming communications requests, or deviceoperation screens, under the direction of control circuitry 500.Alternatively, the display circuitry can be operative to provideinstructions to a remote display.

Communications circuitry 540 can include any suitable communicationscircuitry operative to connect to a communications network and totransmit communications, e.g., data from electronic device 500 to otherdevices within the communications network. Communications circuitry 540can be operative to interface with the communications network using anysuitable communications protocol such as, for example, Wi-Fi, e.g., a802.11 protocol, Bluetooth, radio frequency systems, e.g., 900 MHz, 1.4GHz, and 5.6 GHz communication systems, infrared, GSM, GSM plus EDGE,CDMA, quadband, and other cellular protocols, VoIP, or any othersuitable protocol.

Electronic device 500 can include one more instances of communicationscircuitry 540 for simultaneously performing several communicationsoperations using different communications networks, although only one isshown in FIG. 2 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. For example,electronic device 500 can include a first instance of communicationscircuitry 540 for communicating over a cellular network, and a secondinstance of communications circuitry 540 for communicating over Wi-Fi orusing Bluetooth. In some embodiments, the same instance ofcommunications circuitry 540 can be operative to provide forcommunications over several communications networks.

In some embodiments, electronic device 500 can be coupled to a hostdevice such as digital content control server for data transfers,synching the communications device, software or firmware updates,providing performance information to a remote source, e.g., providingriding characteristics to a remote server, or performing any othersuitable operation that can require electronic device 500 to be coupledto a host device. Several electronic devices 500 can be coupled to asingle host device using the host device as a server. Alternatively oradditionally, electronic device 500 can be coupled to several hostdevices, e.g., for each of the plurality of the host devices to serve asa backup for data stored in electronic device 500.

Although the present invention has been described in relation toparticular embodiments thereof, many other variations and other useswill be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred,therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specificdisclosure herein, but only by the gist and scope of the disclosure.

I claim:
 1. A method for displaying an electronic publicationcomprising: opening a root level folder in the electronic publication,wherein the root level folder is an Open eBook Publication Structure,OEBPS, folder; retrieving an architecture file from the root levelfolder; retrieving a data file in the electronic publication, whereinthe data file contains JavaScript Object Notation, JSON, data renderinga page of the electronic publication in accordance with instructionscontained in the architecture file and the data file; accessing an imagefolder in the electronic publication in accordance with instructionscontained in the architecture file; retrieving an image from the imagefolder; displaying the image on the page in accordance with instructionscontained in the architecture file and the data file; accessing an audiofolder in the electronic publication in accordance with instructionscontained in the architecture file; retrieving an audio file from theaudio folder; and playing the audio file in connection with the page inaccordance with instructions contained in the architecture file and thedata file.
 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprisingopening a second root level folder, the second root level folder being aMETA-INF folder.
 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprisingopening a JavaScript folder, the JavaScript folder containing JavaScriptfiles.
 4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising executinginteractivity functions in association with the page according toinstructions contained in the JavaScript files.
 5. The method accordingto claim 1, further comprising: opening a Cascading Style Sheet folder;and applying styles to the page in accordance with Cascading Style Sheetfiles contained in the Cascading Style Sheet folder.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the file is a SWF file, the method furthercomprising loading and executing page level SWF files for rendering thepage, wherein links to the image and audio and image files are containedin the page level SWF files.
 7. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe file is a HTML/JS file, the method further comprising rendering thepage according to instructions contained in the HTML/JS file.
 8. Themethod according to claim 1, further comprises: retrieving thumbnailimages of pages of the electronic publication from a thumbnail folder;and displaying the thumbnail images.
 9. A reader for displaying anelectronic publication comprising: a display; an audio subsystem capableof playing audio files; a memory, the memory storing the electronicpublication; and control circuitry coupled to the display and coupled tothe memory, the control circuitry operable to: open a root level folderin the electronic publication, wherein the root level folder is an OpeneBook Publication Structure, OEBPS, folder; retrieve an architecturefile from the root level folder; retrieve a data file in the electronicpublication, wherein the data file contains JavaScript Object Notation,JSON, data render a page of the electronic publication on the display inaccordance with instructions contained in the architecture file and thedata file; access an image folder in the electronic publication inaccordance with instructions contained in the architecture file;retrieve an image from the image folder; display the image on the pagedisplayed on the display in accordance with instructions contained inthe architecture file and the data file; access an audio folder in theelectronic publication in accordance with instructions contained in thearchitecture file; retrieve an audio file from the audio folder; andplay the audio file using the audio subsystem in accordance withinstructions contained in the architecture file and the data file. 10.The reader according to claim 9, wherein the control circuitry isfurther operable to open a second root level folder, the second rootlevel folder being a META-INF folder.
 11. The reader according to claim9, wherein the control circuitry is further operable to open aJavaScript folder, the JavaScript folder containing JavaScript files.12. The reader according to claim 11, wherein the control circuitry isfurther operable to execute interactivity functions in association withthe page according to instructions contained in the JavaScript files.13. The reader according to claim 9, wherein the control circuitry isfurther operable to: open a Cascading Style Sheet folder; and applystyles to the page in accordance with Cascading Style Sheet filescontained in the Cascading Style Sheet folder.
 14. The reader accordingto claim 9, wherein the file is a SWF file, wherein the controlcircuitry is further operable to load and execute page level SWF filesfor rendering the page, wherein links to the image and audio and imagefiles are contained in the page level SWF files.
 15. The readeraccording to claim 9, wherein the file is a HTML/JS file, wherein thecontrol circuitry is further operable to render the page according toinstructions contained in the HTML/JS file.
 16. The reader according toclaim 9, wherein the control circuitry is further operable to: retrievethumbnail images of pages of the electronic publication from a thumbnailfolder; and display the thumbnail images on the display.